PORTLAND, Oregon, U.S.A. – As a freshman, so many things ran through my mind the night before school started.
Where would my locker be? Would I like my schedule? What if I got lost? I guess everyone has those fears or similar ones going to a new school, right?Anyway, the next morning I couldn’t wait to get to school and see all of my old friends. Since it was Freshman Assurance Day, I wasn’t too worried. Everything went according to plan and soon it was the end of the day and all of my questions were answered.
That night I realized that the second day of school wouldn’t be anything like the first!
Everyone – not just the freshmen – would be there and I would be lost in a crowd of ginormous teenagers.
I had no idea how to prepare for that, so I made a game plan.
“Just act like you know what you are doing, walk tall, have confidence,” I told myself.
But I couldn’t sleep. Those nervous butterflies in my stomach would not stop fluttering. Ugh!
When I got to school the next day, I realized it was only half as bad as I thought it would be.
At first I was frazzled by the amount of people, but after a few minutes of weaving my way through the crowds, I reached my locker.
Success! Now if only I could make it through the rest of the day – a feat easier said than done.
I got to class and looked down at my schedule. It said that I am in locker 1326. Then it hit me. I had just dumped all of my stuff in locker 1526.
Oh no! I freaked. I asked to go to the office and my teacher told me to go talk to security.
After a few odd looks from some of the upperclassmen that saw me following the head of security, I finally got everything figured out.
It seemed to be just a typo on my schedule. I had done the right thing. What a relief that my iPod and books wouldn’t be stolen.
The rest of the week was rather uneventful, but loads of fun! I made new friends and I love all of my classes, except for the homework – but what teenager likes homework?
Things were a lot different than I expected, but it’s a huge transition going from middle school or junior high to high school.
My advice is to not be afraid to ask questions no matter how stupid you think you will look.
Even if you are embarrassed, you’ll still be able to figure things out and then you won’t have to worry that you are doing the wrong thing.
Just keep you’re head up. Things get hard sometimes, but you just have to keep on moving. The trials in your life only make you a stronger person.
Brice Birdsall is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
